1 Timothy 6:20-21

Summary retelling of 1 Timothy 6:20-21

Paul tells Timothy to guard that which he has been entrusted.  Paul then reminds Timothy to avoid worldly conversations that have no depth.  Paul tells Timothy to be especially careful of teachings that directly contradict the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul tells Timothy that he knows that some have gone astray and departed from the truth because they have chosen to believe false doctrine.  Then Paul gives his grace and God’s grace to Timothy.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Timothy has been entrusted with something.  Timothy has been entrusted with the Gospel!  Timothy has been taught and asked to take that teaching into the world.  There is no greater gift than to be entrusted with the Gospel and being asked to take it out into the world!

Do you ever think about the message you have been given?  Do you always think about the message that you have been given?  What do you think you can actually tell people about God?

Second Thought:

Paul gives Timothy great advice.  Avoid the worldly conversations that have no depth.  Nothing is worse than getting to the end of the day and realizing that we spent our time wasting away a whole day.  There is nothing worse than realizing that while we could have spent a day getting closer to God and helping others get closer to God that we accomplished neither of those tasks.

Why is it easy for people to get roped into conversations over things that really don’t matter?  What topics are the easiest for you to get sucked into?  How can you avoid getting sucked into those very conversations?

Third Thought:

Paul then gives Timothy the easiest advice of all.  Avoid that which directly contradicts the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Too many people fall away because they choose to believe something that simply isn’t right.  Some of these things are things that we want to believe in.  Some examples might be: there are good people, all people go the heaven, Jesus Christ was only a good teacher, etc.

Why is it important to believe what God has said is true?  Why would the world want us to believe less than what God said is true?  What is the hardest thing for you to believe about the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  What might be most important truth to believe about the Gospel of Jesus?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Timothy 1:1-2